Posted by BMT Micro

Reading Time: 2minutes

As the frequency of cyber attacks and data breaches grow, it is essential for online businesses to protect their site, and more importantly, their customer’s sensitive information. The failure to have a plan of counterattack or extra protective measures in place is not an option. Even the slightest hint of a security breach or cyber attack will tarnish your reputation and lose many customers. But, with the right security approach, you can protect your online business from this.

Understand Your Risks
First, prepare for anything. You need to have a complete understanding of the internal and external vulnerabilities that can affect your business. It’s important to do your research on how hackers can gain entry including their different methods and motives. You should familiarize yourself with the various types of cyber fraud schemes and common threats.

Train Your Employees
To better protect your business, your employees should also be educated on the most common types of cyber attacks. They should know how to keep data safe and how to deal with any potential hacking scheme. With this knowledge, your employees can start taking more control of privacy and security to avoid attacks.

Data Encryption
Use strong SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) authentication for web and data protection. SSL lets customers know their personal information is encrypted between a web server and a browser. Encrypting the exchanged data also makes it worthless to anyone who somehow manages to intercept it.

PCI Compliance
If your online business accepts credit or debit cards, you need to make sure that you are compliant with PCI standards. PCI scans are a way to ensure that you are compliant and keeping the payment data of customers secure. These scans are very important because if there is a break in any part of your transaction process and someone gets a hold of your customers’ information, you will be held responsible and face tough penalties.

Use A Secure E-commerce Platform
There are many different e-commerce platforms out there, but the right platform can make all the difference to safeguard your site from attacks. Some platforms are much more secure than others and provide a number of different security tools. You need to ensure you are working with a platform that can provide your online business with top-notch protection.

It is becoming crucial to ensure any online business’ site is secure from any potential security breach or cyber attack. You must make sure you are taking the necessary steps to protect it and your customers’ data.

Using a full-service e-commerce platform like BMT Micro can also save you the time and the expense necessary to keep fraud to a minimum and your customer’s information safe. Our main goal is to ensure the safety of all transactions between vendors and customers. Our state-of-the-art fraud detection system automatically screens orders and puts questionable orders through a manual approval process. Plus, all BMT Micro servers are fully secured and host all shopping carts using the highest encryption standards available.

We continually make sure that online security measures remain a priority and strictly adhere to all PCI compliance regulations. If you have questions or concerns about your current fraud prevention or if you are interested in learning more about BMT Micro’s offerings please contact our vendor services at vendors@bmtmicro.com.

Posted by BMT Micro

Reading Time: 3minutes

Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) tells you the predicted revenue a customer will generate throughout their entire relationship with your business. It is an incredibly valuable metric that allows you to see how valuable customers are going to be. It even takes the guessing out of SEM, PPC, retargeting campaigns, and spending on customer retention.

The longer a business can keep a customer, the greater their customer lifetime value becomes. So, having a high CLTV means each customer you gain generates more revenue for your business.

The following are 5 effective ways to increase customer lifetime value and your profits.

Annual Billing
A subscription model helps with determining the lifetime value of a customer and what your turnover rate of customers typically looks like. An annual billing cycle is an easy way to produce a higher CLTV by committing customers to a year of usage. It also provides your business with a full year of revenue up front. A great way to encourage customers to commit to an annual subscription is by offering a significant discount (typically between 10-20% off).

Valuable Emails
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to stay in touch and retain customers. When it is done correctly, it can even lead to an increase in sales and conversions. The key to effective email marketing is not sending repetitive sales emails that promote new products without offering any value. Each email should provide real value for your customers and remind them how your product or service has helped them.

Quality Customer Service
9 out of 10 consumers say they’re willing to pay more to ensure a good customer experience and as much as 70% will continue to do business when a complaint is resolved. Keeping current customers costs considerably less than acquiring new ones, and poor customer service can destroy your average customer lifetime value.

Upselling and Cross-selling
Cross-selling and upselling are similar in that they both offer customers more value than what they would have received if they had only bought the initial product they searched for. But, when implementing an upselling or cross-selling strategy, you always need to keep the consumer in mind. The object is to make their visit more valuable, not just push products on them. You want to focus on making them a recurring customer by enhancing their experience.

Customer Feedback
Monitoring and using feedback will give you the chance to intercept a problem and fix it before you lose a customer. This provides a rare opportunity to open up a dialogue with your customers and a chance to develop rapport. It will also give you insight into what your business is doing well, what areas could be improved, and how your customers really feel about the product or service you deliver.

Increasing CLTV is essential to get a real understanding of how valuable your customers actually are to your business. It also allows you to focus on creating an effective strategy for producing a steady, predictable increase in revenue. Furthermore, it helps your business make decisions that drive long-term success.

If you focus on customers’ needs and delivering consistent value, your business will have no problem keeping customers around. But, if you are looking for assistance when it comes to increasing customer lifetime value, BMT Micro may be a solution for you. We have a highly trained customer service department that is quick to respond to customers’ and vendors’ inquiries. We also have all the tools you need to run a successful subscription program and more! BMT Micro, Inc. has every base covered when it comes to successfully selling your product online. If you would like to learn more about our services or if you have questions, please feel free to contact our vendor services via email at vendors@bmtmicro.com or visit our website at www.bmtmicro.com.

Posted by BMT Micro

Reading Time: 2minutes

Subscriptions are a great way to offer customers a simple and hassle-free shopping experience. But, deciding the right billing plan for your subscription is key to success. For most businesses, this means using an annual billing plan or charging customers on a monthly basis. Both revenue models have their own pros and cons as well as a dramatic impact on customer acquisition and retention.

The following are some things to consider when determining which option would work best for your business:

Annual Billing Plan

Provides a full year of revenue up front

Customer retention is guaranteed for at least one year

Churn rate is lower than monthly billing

Allows long-term planning and business stability

The number of potential chargebacks is lower, but customers have more time to issue one

A large, upfront payment and commitment can sometimes dissuade customers

Less interactive

Monthly Billing Plan

Lower barrier to entry and less risk to customers that may be uncomfortable with an upfront annual commitment

The upfront cost is lower for the customer which can increase acquisition numbers

Customers have less time to issue a chargeback but there is a higher risk of chargebacks occurring

The probability of churn is much higher than annual

Monthly billing makes it easier for customers to cancel

Monthly payments are also vulnerable to credit cards expiring or being declined

More interactive

Annual plans offer a number of advantages from a cash flow standpoint, but monthly plans allow customers to feel more in control of their options. Ultimately, the best subscription billing plan for your business will depend on your specific product and the preferences of your target audience.

Here at BMT Micro, our system allows products to be set up as recurring billing/subscriptions where our system rebills the customer automatically based on the frequency set in the product (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.). Subscription products can also be setup to allow for discounted subsequent billings, credits towards other products and/or reduced-price purchasing of other products. We are a full-service e-commerce provider and aim to be more accessible & dependable than the average e-commerce platform. Here at BMT Micro, we have all the tools your business will need to run a successful subscription program and more. Get started with BMT Micro today and we’ll take care of rebilling your customers when necessary so you can concentrate on growing your business. To learn more please contact our vendor services at vendors@bmtmicro.com for additional information.

Posted by BMT Micro

Reading Time: 2minutes

Affiliate marketing can be one of the best methods of entry into the $1.5 trillion global e-commerce market. Affiliates can also ensure the right messages get to the right people at the right time by capitalizing on the following they have. But, if you want to have successful affiliate sales, it’s important to keep an eye on your affiliate marketing metrics. These metrics will give you better insight on performance and overall effectiveness of your affiliate marketing campaigns.

Raw Data vs. Derived Data
Many of the same metrics seen in traditional online marketing campaigns are used in affiliate marketing. These metrics should be measurable so you can easily identify what’s working, what’s not, and adjust your strategy accordingly. At the very basic level, businesses should examine both raw and derived data to assess their affiliate programs. Raw data is unaltered values that have not been processed for use. Examples of raw data include:

Impressions

Clicks

Number of sales

Sales Revenue

Commissions Paid

Metrics that are drawn from raw data and provide a sense of performance are known as derived data. Examples of derived data include:

Click-through Rate (CTR)

Conversion Rate

Average Order Value (AOV)

Earnings Per Click (EPC)

Chargeback rate or total refunds

By utilizing and keeping an eye on the significant affiliate metrics mentioned above, it can lead to driving higher quality traffic and, most importantly, increasing conversions and sales. To achieve the best possible results, these metrics should be monitored and evaluated regularly. You’ll also gain a deeper insight into what’s driving your affiliate sales and which marketing efforts are working best.

At BMT Micro, we encourage all of our vendors to participate in the BMT Micro Affiliate Program. This free service provides developers with additional channels to promote and distribute their product. Plus there are no additional fees involved! You pay only the affiliates for this service. The developer control panel includes administrative tools that allow you to manage affiliate sign ups, percentage and view sales reports from your affiliates. Furthermore, BMT Micro vendors have access to detailed information on what the affiliate program is all about and how it can benefit their business in our Vendors Area. BMT Micro also handles all your payments to your affiliates.

Interested in signing up for the BMT Micro Affiliate Program today? If you would like to go ahead and explore what our Affiliate Program has to offer, you can do so by signing up here: Affiliate Sign-up. You can also learn more about our Affiliate Program through this link.